Mark Paolillo has filed a petition requesting a recount in his race against Mike Crowley for town moderator.
Paolillo cited the nine-vote difference as the catalyst for filing the petition.
“I am not sure we will prevail,” he said. “But I felt compelled to file for a recount on behalf of my team and the town.”
Paolillo said he would personally be paying the cost of the recount, even before knowing what the final bill will be.
He added that he will respect the final tally, whether or not it shifts the victory into his column.
Crowley, running his second campaign for moderator, prevailed 2,133-2,124. Mike Widmer, who held the position for years, decided not to seek reelection this year.
“We ran a positive campaign from the start,” Paolillo said.
He called Crowley gracious and understanding about the recount.
Whatever the final result, Paolillo said it is key the moderator succeed in the new job.
“Mark is entitled to ask for a recount,” Crowley said. “I have no problem with that at all.”
Crowley said he does not anticipate a change in the outcome. But, just in case, he’s begun planning for his first Town Meeting as Moderator, scheduled to start May 5, with an eye toward flexibility.
“I told (Paolillo) I’m taking a conservative approach to Town Meeting planning,” Crowley said.
Crowley, who has been sworn in, wants Paolillo to be able to step in seamlessly if the election outcome is reversed.
For a recount, a Belmont resident has to file a petition signed by 10 registered voters in each precinct. Paolillo’s petition included 100 certified signatures, Town Clerk Ellen O’Brien Cushman said.
The Board of Registrars will meet Friday at 9:30 a.m. and vote on whether to hold a recount of the vote, Cushman wrote in an email Wednesday. Once that is done, Cushman will schedule the recount.
This will be the second recount in the past two local elections. Last year, the question of whether the assessors should be appointed or elected went to recount when the final tally showed a difference of 11 votes. After recounting, the elected assessor side still prevailed, but only by four votes.
Paolillo said he thought long and hard about filing for the recount. If the margin had been much larger than nine, he probably wouldn’t have filed, he said.
“It’s pretty much tied,” he said.
